Suction-cleaner.



W. W. ROSENF|ELD- Patented Jan. 15, 1918.

' WILLIAM W. BLUSENFIELD, OF NEW WORK, N. Y.

suo'rlon' e'nnaunn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 115, 19118.,

Application filed March a0, 1913. Serial No. 755,57e.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, WILLIAM W. Rosen- FIELD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York city, in the county of New York and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements :inSuction-Cleaners, fully described and represented in: the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to a sound muflling device for suction cleaners.The invention has been made especially with the idea of providing meansfor mu ing the sound produced by electrically driven suction cleaners ofthe self-contained type in which the motor, fan, suction nozzle anddirt. receptacle 1 charge pipe leading from the fan chamber.

. my invention. I have found that by making (iii This sound is veryconsiderably reduced by the discharge tube of a suitable length it ispossible to mufiie or to avoid intensifying the vibrations of the airdischarged through the tube under the action of the fan, such suitablelength being a length which will not respond to vibrations correspondingto the operating speed of the fan, and, best and most conveniently for acleaner of the type shown, a length greater than, but less than twicethe length of, the shortest tube which will respond to vibrations set upby the fan, or vibrations corresponding to the operating speed of thefan.

There is more 'or less difl'erence in the speeds of revolution of thefans in difierent suction cleaners of the same make and style,

and even in any particular cleaner the fan will be driven at difierentspeeds under varying operating conditions; and have noticed that-Withlntendedly identical cleaners having discharge conduits of the samelength, the noise due, apparently, to vibrations in the dischargeconduit is much greater in some than in others. In order to meet theconditions resulting from such differences and variations in operatingspeed of the suction fans, I find it best that the total length of thedischarge tube should be greater than that of the shortest tube whichwill respond to vibrations of the air corre sponding to the lowestnormal operating speed of revolution of the fan and less than twice thelength of the shortest tube which will respond to vibrationscorresponding to the highest normal operating speed of revolution of thefan.

To provide a discharge tube of suitable length to serve the purpose ofthe invention,

ll preferably attach to the rigid discharge tube or conduit leading fromthe fan chamher, a muflier formed of a short piece of tube, preferablyof flexible rubber fabric tubing, which extends into the porousreceptacle ordust collecting bag. There is an additional advantage inhaving the tube project into the bag in that a space is thus providedaroundthe muflier tube in which dust discharged into the bag maycollect.

In the accompanying drawing 1 have.

shown in side elevation partly broken away a self-contained suctioncleaner provided with mufliing means in accordance with the presentinvention.

Referring to the drawing, the suction cleaner shown has a body formed bya motor casing 10 and a fan casing 11 joined one to theother and eachbeing of cylindrical form and set horizontal. Secured to the front ofthe fan casing is a downwardly extral opening with the interior of thefan casing, the lower end of the casing 12 being contracted in thedirection longitudinal of the machine and extended transversely of themachine to form a suction or cleaning nozzle 13 having its bottom edgeor face formed with an elongated intake slot. The machine is supportedby the suction nozzle and by a pair of running wheels 14 and is operatedby means of a pivoted handle 15. A rotary fan 16 mounted within the fancasing is driven by an electric motor mounted Within the motorcasing 10.Adischarge passage 17 leads ofi tangentially from the bottom of the fanchamber and communilllifl cates through a backwardly leading dischargeconduit or tube 18 with a receptacle 19 for the dirt and dust dischargedfrom the operating fan chamber. The dirt receptacle 19 may be a bag orsuitable close woven fabric as shown, one end being connected to the.dis-. charge conduit as by being secured to a short length of tubin 20adapted to .slip into the end of the condilit 18, and the other end ofthe bag being suitably supported from the handle and being formed withan opening for cleaning out the bag which is n'ormally'closed; or anyother suitable receptacle of a porous nature to'permit the air to escapewhile retaining the dirt, dust,

- scraps, etc. received from the fan, might be provided. Vhen themachine'isin use, the,

suction fan rotating at high speed draws the air in strongly through theintake passage and forces it out through the discharge passage, the dirtand dust from the carpet or rug or other material or surface over whichthe cleaner is moved being thus drawn in tension of the dischargeconduit 18 into the dust collecting bag 19, being in the particularconstruction shown secured to the connecting pipe 20.- The effect ofthis muffler tube 25 is to make the whole discharge tube of a suitablelength to muflle or to avoid intensifying the sound produced by thevibrations of the air through the tube under the action of the fan. Theresult might be obtained by simply lengthening the tube or conduit 18,but this. would, with the bag connected to the tube in the manner shownin the drawin s, bring the lower end of the bag 19 too ar in the rear ofthe-machine for convenience, and, furthermore, there is, as beforepointed out, an important advantage in having the tube project into thebag since the dust discharged into the bag may thus collect around themuffler tube instead of falling back into the tube, and a clear passagefor the discharge of air and dust from the fan charnber into the bag ismaintained at all times. For this purpose the tube so projecting intothe bag should, as shown, be self-supporting or normally non-collapsing,but also flexible so as to readily bend upward with the bag when thepivoted handle is thrown up to vertical position.

For best results, as before stated, the t0- discharged tarmac tal'len hof'the discharge tube including the mu er extension should be greaterthan that of a tube which will respond to vibrations of the aircorresponding to the lowest normal speed of revolution of the fan andless than twice the length of the shortest tube which will respond tovibrations corresponding to the highest normal speed of revolution ofthe fan.

What is claimed is: 1. In a suction. cleaner, with a rotary suction fanand a porous receptacle into which a discharge conduit leads from thefancasing, of means for muffling the sound produced by the air passing sionof the discharge conduit an extending.

a substantial distance, into the porous receptacle.

2. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a rotary suctlon fan and aporous receptacle into the bottom of which a conduit leads from the fancasing, of a self-sustain the combination through the discharge conduitunder the acing sound muffling discharge pipe of flexible.

rubber fabric tubing arranged to extend a substantial distance into theporous recep- "tacle so as to leave a space for dirt to collect aboutthe end of said pipe.

3. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a rotary suction fan and aporous receptacle into which a discharge conduit leads from the fancasing, of a self-sustaining dis-- charge tube, the discharge end ofwhich extends a substantial distance into the porous receptacle andwhichis of a length greater than that of a tube which will respond tovibrations of the air corresponding to the lowest normal operating speedof the fan and less than twice the length of the short-, est tube whichwill respond to vibrations corresponding to the highest normal operatingspeed of the fan.

4. In a suction cleaner, the combination with a rotary suction fan and adust receptacle of porous flexible material supported from a verticallyswinging pivoted handle rod and connected at its ower end to thedischarge conduit leading from the fan casing, of a flexible andnormally non-collapsing discharge tube extending from the dis chargeconduit into the dust receptacle so as to leave space for dirt tocollect about said tube.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM W. ROSENFIELD. Witnesses: v EMIL W. OPPENHEIM, l a C. A.CORNELL. l

